I impersonated God in America

Milton stood up, and a hooded woman next to him handed him a golden cup containing wine that had already been shared.

“I swear by the golden cup: I will dedicate myself to the re-enactment of Revelation, and I will ensure the timely coming of the divine judgment. If I break this oath…”

This is a use of the power of the Golden Cup that Ducalen and his group discovered: as long as one obtains the power to control blood, breaking the oath will result in the death of an unseen being.

Moreover, it seems that the power of the Golden Cup is limited; the more it is shared, the more diluted its internal power becomes. But fortunately, this power seems to have the potential to grow.

With a short transition period after drinking it, the strength can be quickly restored.

Is it because I've been feeling a bit weak lately?

Dukaren shook off his thoughts and lowered his right hand.

"Our path may be full of thorns, but this is a sacred sacrifice..."

----------------

"So, what's the situation now?"

"The covert efforts to win them over are progressing well. We've basically won over all the archbishops in the area. The next step is to test the waters with the United States."

“Simply winning them over isn’t enough.” The Archbishop of Philadelphia placed his cigar beside the ashtray. “To bring the Knights of War, the symbols of peace must be erased.”

Everyone at the table fell silent at the same time.

Everyone looked at the figure on the headline news with complicated expressions.

“Giovanni,” Ducalen said softly, “I know no one in this room wants to see him fall. Without his heroic efforts in the previous incidents, the church wouldn’t have the prestige it has today.”

"But just as easily, without him Michael would not have appeared, and the White Horse Plague Rider would have continued the Book of Revelation."

“He was a true saint, and we sent him to the cross not because of hatred.”

"On the contrary, I admire him and believe that he will go to heaven after his death."

"However, his death will inevitably become part of a great sacrifice."

"So here's the question."

Amidst the sighs emanating from inside the room, an archbishop suddenly interrupted from the corner.

"Stigmata, Durandal, body metallization, mental area attack, plus possible trump cards."

"We're going to kill Bishop Giovanni... really?"

The sound of the golden cup slowly rang out the next moment.

"Actually, there is a way."

"Hornets, I wonder if you've ever heard of them?"

Chapter 117 The Labyrinth

Crete, the ruins of Knossos.

Wenban held the selfie stick in front of him, pointing the camera at the ruins of the ancient palace behind him.

He pulled his sun hat down low, and the edge of the sun was slowly being devoured by a very thin shadow.

"Brothers, look how well I timed this! I made sure you guys caught the eclipse right when the broadcast started. This trip to Crete wasn't a waste, was it?"

“My friend told me that the path of this eclipse will cross the eastern Mediterranean. Crete is said to be one of the best places to observe it. I’m here for you, so you don’t have to come.”

[A solar eclipse... I'm amazed the streamer dared to go. I usually avoid such astronomical phenomena at this time of year.]

A solar eclipse associated with the legend of the sun being swallowed up always feels like it might unleash something very ominous.

Surely the Greek military wasn't completely unprepared?

What's there to be afraid of? Greece is a region protected by the Greek gods; surely they have some trump cards up their sleeves?

"Don't talk nonsense. A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon. By the way, since you're here, why don't I tell you about the Knossos Palace next door? You know, this is the birthplace of the Minoan civilization, which dates back 4000 years."

I'm a local resident of Crete, and I've already started preparing to take my family on a trip to other places.

Tell me, what mythical monsters are there on Crete? Make a list, and we'll see how many we spot.

Wen Ban coughed lightly, ignoring the provocative comments on the screen.

"Crete is most famous for the story of the Minotaur and the labyrinth."

"But I bet many of you haven't heard of the origin of the Minotaur. Let me give you a brief introduction. Legend has it that Poseidon gave King Minos a white bull and ordered him to sacrifice it to him."

[Divine Logic]

[He's truly an amazing person.]

[Actually, it was because Poseidon wanted to emphasize and secure ownership of Crete through this sacrificial ritual.]

"Perhaps, as the comments suggest, King Minos kept the white bull that Poseidon had given him and sacrificed another one instead. Poseidon was unhappy about this, so he made his wife Pasiphaë fall in love with the white bull and, with the help of Daedalus, enter a cow model... and that's how the Minotaur came to be."

He suddenly felt something strange behind him and turned around to look.

Two backpackers with crosses around their necks were standing next to a row of stone pillars in front of the palace ruins, looking at a map in their hands.

Wow, they even have life insurance.

Isn't that the priest from Manchester City?

[That's normal, isn't it? Can't priests even take a holiday?]

Wenban zoomed the camera towards the hill and continued gesturing.

“The Minotaur lived deep within the labyrinth, and Theseus later used a legendary ball of thread to enter the labyrinth and ensure his way back, and then killed him.”

"The Ariadne Line is now often used as a metaphor for clues or methods that can guide people to find direction, get out of trouble and solve complex problems in complicated situations."

"You could even say that the word 'clue' itself comes from a ball of thread."

At this moment, the eclipse's aperture just covers the sun's brightest area, and the sunlight is thinned vertically from directly above by the moon's shadow.

Wen Ban adjusted his glasses slightly, because even during a solar eclipse, the damage to the eyes can be significant if you don't wear professional glasses.

He looked at the sky and was about to say something when he suddenly noticed the barrage of comments exploding around him.

[Hey host! Stop staring at that eclipse, look at what's below!]

It wasn't a wasted trip, not a wasted trip at all.

[As expected, I've already called the Greek Ministry of Defense.]

Wenban was somewhat puzzled by what the comments said. Following the other person's words, he looked down and saw that after the light passed through the edge of the eclipse ring, a large area of ​​semi-transparent labyrinthine phantom was refracted in the air above the ruins of the Knossos Palace.

As for the identity of the labyrinth in front of us, considering its location in Crete, there is almost no other possibility.

[The Minotaur's Labyrinth?!]

"No way?!"

--------------

Crete.

At the end of the seawall, under a faded blue parasol, a girl in a wheelchair had a thin blanket covering her legs and held up a filter specifically for viewing solar eclipses.

Today, the erosion zone stretches across the eastern Mediterranean. Her brother checked the weather several days in advance and specially pushed her to the seawall to see it.

She held the filter up to her eyes and watched as the sun was slowly devoured by the moon's shadow.

"Wow! The gap on the right side of the sun is already halfway through! Bro! Look!"

The young man glanced down at her but didn't reply.

His gaze involuntarily slid down, stopping at the edge of the thin blanket covering her knees, and a trace of guilt flashed across his face.

The girl seemed to notice the movement behind her, tilted her head back to look at him upside down: "What are you secretly thinking about now?"

"It's nothing, I was just a little shocked by the solar eclipse."

He then stood there in silence.

Several years ago, when he and the girl went out to play, an accident caused the girl to suffer severe injuries to both legs. Although she was rescued, she was left with extremely serious sequelae.

Although the girl didn't say anything, he...

She packed his guilt into her laughter.

I wish I could also encounter an extraordinary inheritance.

He reached out and straightened the thin blanket that had been blown askew on her shoulders.

He looked up toward the hill, his gaze suddenly freezing.

His mouth was agape, his pupils were contracting rapidly, and he muttered, "No way?"

"what happened to you?"

The girl looked up at the young man's expression, frowned, and then looked down from his perspective. She saw a maze-like structure not far away on the hillside.

"Wait here for me, I'll go take a look."

The young man had already let go of the wheelchair handle and stepped back half a step.

He zipped his shirt up to his chest and took out his phone and wallet from his pockets, stuffing them into his wheelchair.

After all, as a semi-local, he was very familiar with the island's mythology.

If it really is that maze.

As long as he goes in through the door and doesn't go too far, there shouldn't be much danger in testing the waters.

Moreover, according to legend, the Minotaur inside the labyrinth had already been slain.

The Extraordinary Committee has been established during this period. Once the authorities confirm that the ruins possess extraordinary attributes, they will seal off the site very quickly.

If it's really as he imagines, this might be the only chance he'll ever have in his life to come into contact with extraordinary relics.

"No! It's dangerous there, come back quickly!"

"Do not worry!"

--------------

Rumble.

A private jet ski drifted by from afar on the sea, and the driver took off his sunglasses, revealing violet eyes underneath.

Pacco looked at the maze-like phantom ahead and remembered Tom mentioning the whereabouts of the Horcruxes.

He twisted the throttle to the floor, and the motorboat sped toward the shore.

"Found it, the third Horcrux."

Chapter 118 Exploring the Ruins

Athens.

Defense Secretary Nikos had a report on troop deployments laid out in front of him.

The sunlight streaming into the Acropolis through the window didn't bother him at all.

Deputy Foreign Minister Elena leaned back in her chair, holding a cup of long-cold black tea in her hand.

How have things been going on your end lately?

"You can tell from my expression whether things are going well or not. Right now, almost every diplomat in the world is testing us. Even if we say that Greece has no cards to play, no one believes us. What can I do?"

"Don't you diplomatic personnel love ambiguity the most? Let them guess."

"Ambiguous? You have no idea how much the higher-ups are wavering between the rise of the mythical and clinging to powerful figures."

"At most, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be exposed in the end and people will say a few words, but our Ministry of National Defense will have a lot more to consider."

"Recently, the archaeological team has searched almost every temple and ruin, but what have we found? Nothing. Without divine help, you know our firepower. We probably wouldn't even be able to handle a mid-level C-rank demon."

“I can barely sleep every day because of the thought that something extraordinary might happen.”

"That's definitely not easy for you."

Elena placed the black tea on the coffee table.

Nikos leaned back in his chair, and the two of them remained silent for a moment.

The encrypted phone on the table rang.